Open Arms
by Ailetoile
Summary: ONE SHOT. Major spoilers from Ch. 196 of the manga! Neji reflects on the way that Naruto has managed to change him...


A/N: Let's just say that this is the product of a recent emotional low and the immediate thoughts that I had upon seeing the latest episode and reading the latest chapter. In other words, this ficlet contains MAJOR SPOILERS for both the anime and the manga. Do not read unless you have read the manga up to at least chapter 196.  
  
Disclaimer: As I'm sure you could have all guessed, Naruto's not mine, nor are any of the characters found therein.  
  
............  
  
I have always believed in fate. Everything about our destiny is predetermined at birth. Once, before life taught me otherwise, I believed that fate was a kind master. In the end, though, what have I been left with? Bitterness. The knowledge that I have been cheated and that hard work and determination will earn me nothing but a harder fall at the end. Why fight what I cannot change? This confrontation as well as the outcome have been fated from the moment I was born. Whether for better or for worse, what was meant to happen will.  
  
In the end, whether or not you chose to acknowledge it, you and I are equal in one way: we are both slaves to a destiny that we cannot control. I have told you this twice, and both times you have blatantly disregarded my words. You, through your loud voice and your boisterous promises have made it your mission, your duty to prove me wrong.  
  
Uzumaki, I think that I see now what you have been trying to tell me all along. What you have been trying to tell us all. I wish that I had been a better listener. I fear that now it may be too late for regrets.  
  
I have been far from alone in my disdain for you. You seem to make more enemies than you do friends. You are obnoxious and annoying. You are, by far, the biggest idiot I have ever met. Your mere presence is enough to drive even the most patient person to distraction while those of us who were not graced with infinite patience are left more often than not wondering whether you are capable of thinking at all. No one would have ever guessed that any pearls of wisdom would ever be forthcoming from you of all people. All we ever saw was a loser, a dobe, a dropout who would never amount to anything.  
  
You have shown us all just how wrong we were.  
  
The first time I acknowledged you, it was out of sheer irritation. What could you possibly know about the relationship between me and my cousin? Your words only caused Hinata-sama to invite more damage upon herself. If not for the adults, I would have killed her, not only because there was no member of the head family supervising our fight, but also to prove to you both what happens when you try to fight destiny. You, with your indomitable spirit and your exasperating attitude... I needed to put you down, put you in your place. I never once doubted or questioned my superiority when it came to you. When it came to Hinata-sama.  
  
The second time I acknowledged you was during the third Chuunin exam. You refused to meekly submit and follow the path that fate had laid at your feet, doggedly battling on as I dealt you blows that would have devastated a lesser man. I could not understand what possessed you to invite the abuse that I inflicted upon you again and again but I was happy to answer your incessant demands for pain. I underestimated your strength. My eyes did not deceive me that day when they took note of your unshakable sense of self worth, although at the time I mistook assurance for baseless overconfidence. I never expected you of all people to defeat me.  
  
In front of an audience of thousands, I related a story to you that I have never told another soul. I was so sure of my victory that I spoke freely of the reasoning behind my beliefs. To this day I do not know why, but I needed you to understand the reason that you were going to lose. Why I was going to have to hurt you, why I was going to have to destroy your dream and undermine the very beliefs that had carried you through your life. You were a surprisingly good listener. I would never have guessed that of you.  
  
Needless to say, you taught me an unforgettable lesson that day. In the span of one heated battle you demonstrated the power of free will. You showed me and the rest of our village the power of hard work and tenacity as it triumphed in an unthinkable victory over my genius. You overcame impossible odds because you were too damned stubborn to give up. You opened my eyes to the truth: fate or no, life is exactly what you make of it.  
  
The third time I acknowledged you, it was to force you on your reluctant way towards a goal even more unattainable than your victory at the Chuunin exam. This time, however, I knew better than to underestimate you. If anyone can accomplish the impossible, it is you, Uzumaki Naruto. You hesitated-but you obeyed the call of fate and left me along with our two remaining teammates. Your destiny lies with Sasuke as mine lies with this henchman whose attacks are slowly destroying even my absolute defense.  
  
I can feel my body slowing down as the gaping wounds that my enemy's spikes have inflicted begin to take their toll. It is obvious that I have expended too much chakra, and a bare month ago I would have taken this opportunity to reflect that fate is a cruel master indeed, for how can even a genius hope to defeat a man who has sold his soul for power?  
  
Surprisingly, though, I find myself wondering what you would do in this situation. I understand now what it is that will make you a great ninja someday; for the first time in my life, I chose to take my fate into my own hands. I will take a page from your unusual book and learn from you just as Hinata-sama has.  
  
If I am fated to fail, then the fall at the end will be equally devastating no matter what I do. No matter how hard I try. If I am going to fall, then I am going to damned well take this cursed ninja down with me.  
  
I can sense the attack speeding towards me. He mistakes my sudden relaxation as a sign that I have given up. If I can just find him, if I can manage to initiate one last round of close-range combat, all may not be lost.  
  
I raise my arm, prepared to embrace the imminent pain and begin what may be the final fight of my life.  
  
This strange calm, though... Naruto, you have freed me. Because of you I am no longer a caged bird. If I am to die, then I will be the one to choose the way in which my death comes.  
  
I will welcome my destiny with open arms. 


End file.
